George Emeny is one of three brothers from Guelph, Canada who fought in World War One. He enlisted in the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary in 1915, aged 20, along with his two brothers.

One of his brothers, Henry, was killed in action. But George survived and was awarded two WW1 medals: the British War Medal and the Victory Medal, given as a pair to all who served in the Great War.

But, 90 years on, George Emeny's valour is now going to the highest bidder on eBay, according to one alarmed collector.

Dave Thompson's hobby and passion is war medals, but he also has a mission: to scour auctions and sales for Canadian war medals, and then return them to custodians who will treat the medals with respect, family members or local museums.

Thompson believes that veteran's from the Great War are being quickly forgotten. There is an urgent need to preserve their legacy - and to avoid seeing that legacy flogged on eBay.

"These guys are quickly not being cared about," Thompson told local Canadian newspaper the Guelph Mercury. "There are a lot of freedoms we have because of them.

"I like the idea that once a set of medals or medal is for sale, I can return them to the communities - especially to museums.

"Then people can look at them and remember the fellow. And some will look and say, 'I know that family. They lived down the street.'"

The British War Medal bears the profile of King George V, with a naked St George on horseback on the reverse. The Victory Medal bears the legend "The Great War for Civilisation", with a winged victory figure on the obverse.

Each of George Emeny's medals have his name engraved on the edge. And both were spotted by Thompson when they appeared on eBay.

So far, Thompson - who trawls through the Canadian archives to research each medal he spots - says he has had a 95% success rate in returning the awards to local families, museums or other trusted custodians across Canada.

At Paul Fraser Collectibles, we recognise the increasing importance of preserving the legacy of war veterans - and have access to the best medal and militaria experts and auctioneers in the world.

If you are in possession of any medals and would like advice on what to do with them, you can email us at info@paulfrasercollectibles.com or telephone +44 (0) 117 933 9503.

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